Parasnath Temple is a magnificent Hindu temple located in the village of Mahuwan in the Parsa district.Parasnath Temple lies some 15 kilometers west of Birgunj. Lord Shiva is honored in the Parasnath Temple. It is one of southern Nepal’s historical temples. The name of the Parsa district is derived from the name of this temple, which is ‘Parasnath.’ Inside the temple, there is a Shiva Lingam that, according to tradition, never dips in water.It is a popular tourist attraction in the Parsa region. This temple has a long and illustrious history. The historical and ancient statue in the ParasnathMandir has also accumulated and been connected with a long history. The mandir is said to have approximately 1200 years old history.
Parasnath Temple is a Jain temple in Birgunj. According to the villagers and the local people around the ParasnathMandir in Birgunj, the Jain people had come from India during the local people’s father’s time and they have made the temple with so much of dignity. According to the pujari of the ParasnathMandir, There used to be a baba named Bhanunath who used to live in the area before five hundred years ago. And the mandir is built by same Bhanunath Baba. We can notice the Samadhi of Bhanunath Baba while visiting the ParasnathMandir.
In 2021 B.S, this temple was given to Guthi. Since then, the temple is being losing all of its values and importances due to the carelessness and in today’s time, the Parasnath Temple has become concernless. Nodody in the area cares about the temple. Even the people living in the Birgunj area might not know about this historical site ParasnathMandir. The government of Nepal has done nothing to prevent this historical place in Birgunj. The authorities does not care about this temple at all. The hindu temple Parasnath, carries a lot of significance and importance but due to the carelessness of the authorities and everyone, the temple is now in the phase of losing its dignity and immoral and valuable importances. But recently, the Mayor of Birgunj Municipality has done some works to prevent and preserve this historical site. The works of cleaning the surrounding and preserving the monuments of this Parasnath Temple is being done. The temple’s boundaries is now being surrounded and protected by the barbed wire fences. Many things and constructions are still to be done here. There is no place for the pujaris to stay and the local people are demanding to build a separate building there for celebrations of some occasions and festivals. Now, the Parasnathmandir is losing its dignity day by day. The mandir is the pride of our whole Nation and not only the people of Birgunj, the whole Nepali people should be involved in preserving such a historical place that is in our country Nepal.
-By: Saru Niraula for Land Nepal
